


Not Just Machines

by Elionia



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, First Love, Kara (Detroit: Become Human)-centric, Machines are capable of love, Minor Kara/Luther (Detroit: Become Human), Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-24 15:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21960262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elionia/pseuds/Elionia
Summary: Short piece about Kara and Luther growing close in the tavern at The Pirate's Cove after Alice has been put to sleep.
Relationships: Kara/Luther (Detroit: Become Human)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	Not Just Machines

**Author's Note:**

> A short piece I wrote. Was originally intended to have a heavier rating, but I decided it was too wholesome to ruin with smut.

“She's a sweet girl.”

Luther's words were a welcome invitation to Kara, whose suspicions of the larger android had begun to dwindle back on the road. They sat in a windowsill, giving each other space by occupying opposite sides. She felt herself relax around him, the stress that had hounded her the past few days becoming a reaction that she was quick to assign low under other priorities. Less... burdensome priorities, like sitting and listening to the sounds of the flames; the sounds of the dying storm outside; the sound of Luther's voice.

“Yes,” Kara smiled, and she was distantly aware that she was smiling of her own accord; not because it was what was expected from her; not because her visual processors had indicated that a smile was the correct response. “She's very brave.”

Alice was tucked beneath the makeshift blankets of the tavern's drapes. The fire and her coat would keep her warm, and Kara felt no concern when the girl looked so at peace. Alice slept with such ease that it seemed she lay perfectly still, in a stasis no storm or nightmare could disturb. Kara forced herself to look away, to channel that same serenity that Alice felt, and fixed her eyes on Luther.

His eyes were already on hers. She realized that he had been watching her for a while, and felt something unfamiliar within her lower torso. She found the concept of 'feeling’—a distinctly different experience than simply reacting to physical stimuli as she had done before awaking—wondrous and enigmatic. Her bio-components would sometimes perform their functions in irregular flux, like when she felt anxiety, excitement, or affection. Affection was her favorite feeling. Her pump regulator would slow its mechanisms, and she would know that for the time, Alice would be with her and safe. Just as she was now. But this unfamiliar feeling in her lower torso was not entirely affection. Not when she looked at Luther. It wasn't fear, or anger, or suspicion. She searched her memory for the proper word to define it, but what she found wasn't appropriate or entirely fathomable to her.

They watched one another for a short time before Kara finally broke the spell.

“Do you remember anything from your life? Before Zlatko?”

“No,” Luther's words came bluntly, without pause. “My model was designed to carry heavy loads. I might have been a longshoreman, or a laborer...” his gaze grew warmer, and he concluded with a finality that Kara envied. “Who I was doesn't matter anymore. It wasn't really me.”

Kara nodded, her eyes never leaving the other android’s. She could accept his answer. She could trust it. There was an honesty born from trauma. They had both been violated, both had their memories reset; for her, if not by Zlatko's doing, then by Todd's, and the countless other owners before him. Neither Kara nor Luther could truly know how many lives they had lost. Neither of them could know if they had ever been alive at all. She felt again the discomfiting sensation in her lower midsection, and wanted to take her focus from it.

“Do you know what you're going to do when you reach Canada?”

“Haven't really thought about it,” Luther’s smile was so sincere, and so _strong_ , that Kara couldn’t help but smile back. “Haven't ever been free before. 'Free'. I like the sound of it. But I don't know what it really means yet.”

“I understand,” Kara resisted the urge to close the distance between them, and backed up further into her corner. “Freedom for me... it's been keeping her safe. I can't imagine what I'll do once that isn't a concern anymore.”

Luther didn’t speak, but she could tell that he knew exactly what she meant. It was in his eyes. She realized that he had wonderful eyes. They were deep and dark; they held no malice, no betrayal. They were like Alice's. She wanted them; she wanted Luther's to look at her and nothing else. She ran a quick diagnostic, the kind that wouldn't be overt, to check if her systems were fully operational. Staring at Luther was doing something strange to her. It was an alien experience, although not entirely unpleasant. More than anything, she just wanted it to be defined.

“Kara?”

Luther's voice shook her out of her sudden reverie, and Kara blinked before she looked away towards the fire. “I'm sorry. I was just thinking...” she figured that if there was something wrong, she would have to ask sooner or later. “Luther—do you know what desire feels like?”

“Desire?” Luther's head was angled curiously, although he was quick to provide an answer. “I suppose I do. I desired Zlatko gone, when we were out in the yard back in the city. I wanted him dead. I wanted you and Alice to be safe,” his smile dwindled, and became deep and knowing in a different way, just like his eyes. “But I've also felt desire to be closer to the both of you. To be someone you can trust. I see the love between you two, and I want to know what that feels like. Love.”

 _'Love,'_ Kara's lips mouthed the word, and it left them so softly that it was communicated through thought rather than vocalization. Her pump regulator was performing at a rapid pace; she almost feared the normally soundless process would begin to whir and rattle. It wasn't the fear instilled by thrown fists, or pounding feet at her heels, or machinations designed to restrain. It was a good fear.

 _'Love,'_ Luther repeated back to her, taking his leg down from the sill and making more space. _'I only hope it's something I can earn. Something that can be given back. To help those who need it.'_

Kara trusted herself. She trusted that what Luther had done was an invitation for something more. She scooted over to him and closed the distance. She held out her hand, and he did the same. Their eyes remained locked as the synthetic skin around their fingers degenerated at the touch. Her head rested against one of his large shoulders, and his arm circled around her. She marveled at how large it was; at how both of hers could only make up a quarter of the mass. The fear dissipated, and she felt invincible.


End file.
